by George Jacobi I gaze across the late summer Fenton at the glittering schist and garnet-infused wall of the Grist Mill. On the little beach below my feet, last night’s raccoon tracks and a lethargic green frog. Not a dramatic scene, this cozy nook has an evergreen grove, a meadow, a pond, and some local […]

by George Jacobi Joshua’s Trust doesn’t preserve much meadow acreage (there isn’t much left in CT), so for us, midsummer’s botanical color is enjoyed along sunny open roadsides. And we drive by them, paying scant attention. But summer’s wildflowers sometimes have stories to tell. One of those common colors, according to Peterson’s Field Guide description […]

By George Jacobi On my way to meet co-steward Marian Matthews at Joshua’s Trust Byles Sanctuary I was delayed by my fourth turtle rescue of the week. It was another Painted Turtle, and thankfully didn’t involve any more vehicular drama. One earlier stop was a Spotted Turtle, a creature of DEEP CT special concern. The […]

By George Jacobi In Fall of 2022 I watched in awe as two ordinary guys moved a rock that weighed maybe a ton. It took only five minutes with a grip hoist to drag it twenty feet across the Fenton River and lock in place a huge tree trunk that they had already positioned–using physics […]

By George Jacobi Something had been gnawing at me since the well-attended walk on the Madeleine Regan Preserve, some buried thought that seemed worth unearthing. I kept digging for it unsuccessfully while falling asleep or otherwise unencumbered by day-to-day life. It finally dawned on me that to revisit it, I’d have to revisit it (I’m […]

by George Jacobi I’ve had the Courant delivered forever. I walk joyfully out to the mailbox at dawn, rain or snow notwithstanding, to greet the new day with its birdsong and news. Yet I think it’s about over for me. I suspect you’d agree that without in-depth written reporting one is adrift on an ocean […]

by George Jacobi Motion catches my eye and I look up from the desk. A Pileated Woodpecker has landed in the ragged cherry tree just outside my window and almost immediately begins pounding on a spot at the fork of two major branches. Through the window the thunk is muffled but unmistakable. Usually if I […]

by George Jacobi One robin remained into the new year, living off the suet crumbs that fell from my feeder or were knocked off by more sophisticated winter birds. It didn’t disappear until the recent bitter cold snap. I hope he/she has alternative sources of food. Good luck, robin (bleeding heart liberalism). More robins spend […]

by George Jacobi Well, this feels useless. I’m crouched on the trail instead of hiking, palms to the hard icy earth, trying in vain to absorb the essence of the now indiscernible human feet that once trod here. Joshua’s Trust’s Madeline Regan Preserve in Tolland includes a half mile of Mishimmayagat, the Old Connecticut Path. […]